-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- The Boston Bruins won their first Stanley Cup in 39 years , defeating the Vancouver Canucks 4-0 Wednesday night in the seventh and deciding game of the National Hockey League 's annual championship .

The loss did n't go over well with hundreds of mostly young Canuck fans , who took to the streets and set several overturned vehicles afire a few blocks from Rogers Arena where the game was played .

Some fans stopped to pose in front of the flames . Others danced on top of another overturned vehicle . A dull cloud of gray smoke choked some areas of downtown .

iReport : Fires , rioting and looting in Vancouver

Aerial footage showed Vancouver police wading into the unruly crowd that continually taunted and threw things at the officers . Members of the crowd leaped over one street fire , and officers wrestled several fans to the ground .

`` We 're unable to release anything formal at the moment but officers are busy dealing with a few core groups of people bent on committing criminal acts like mischief , vandalism , and fights , '' Vancouver Police Media Relations Officer Lindsey Houghton said in a statement .

`` We 're working hard to get everyone home safe . ''

Freelance Journalist Jorge Contreras told CNN that 1,000-2 ,000 people were on the streets in downtown Vancouver , and that six police vehicles had been set on fire .

After dropping the first two games in Vancouver , the Bruins took four of the last five games from the Canucks , who struggled to stay in Game Seven after going down 1-0 in the first period .

The Bruins blew open the game in the second , after rookie Brad Marchand sprung on a rebound off of Canuck goalie Roberto Luongo to put away his second goal of the match .

`` We knew the second goal was going to be huge , '' Marchand , the 23-year-old rookie said in a post-game interview . `` It was nice to get that one , and we kept pushing forward after that . ''

Marchand would finish the game with two goals and one assist .

But the game was really decided by Thomas , who polished off his spectacular playoff performance with a Game Seven shutout to take the coveted Conn Smythe trophy . Tim Thomas -- whose unorthodox goalkeeping mystified the Canucks all night -- set the NHL record for most shots faced and most saves in playoff history .

He also shattered Johnny Bower 's 1960s record for most saves in a Stanley Cup final .

Coming into the series , Vancouver was considered the superior squad on special teams , especially on power plays . But that was n't the case in this year 's Stanley Cup , as Boston put away five power play goals to Vancouver 's two . Vancouver was also outscored 10-0 in the second period .

`` We finally brought our game from home on the road , '' Zdeno Chara told Team Radio Canada . `` We played physical and took care of the puck , played extremely hard and paid attention to the details . ''

Patrice Bergeron 's first period goal should have been enough for fans to know the game 's outcome , as the team that scored the first goal won every game in this series .

The Bruins now have won the Stanley Cup six times , fourth-most among all NHL franchises , but had n't captured the sport 's most coveted prize since 1972 . They had been to the finals five other times since they last won , but this time marked their first appearance since 1990 .

The Canucks have been to the finals three times in their 40 seasons in the league , but have never won . Holding the home-ice advantage , they won the first two games of the series , but lost all three games played in Boston before losing at home on Wednesday .

They were seeking to become the first Canadian team to win the NHL title since the Montreal Canadiens in 1993 .

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Police move in after Vancouver fans set vehicle afire , throw items

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Boston overcame a 2-0 series deficit to win its first Stanley Cup since 1972

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Vancouver , in its 41st season , was seeking to win its first NHL championship

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The Bruins now have won six Stanley Cups , making them No. 4 all-time